You got the stuff?

One spring afternoon, as I sat at the kitchen table, I looked out of the window and noticed a man walking around in our back yard. I asked my mom did she know that there was a strange man walking around in our yard. She came to the window, looked out, and said, “I don’t know who that is! Go find out what he’s doing.” So, I went outside and I walked up to the stranger in my yard. I asked him if I could help him and what he was looking for.

He looked at me and said, “You got the stuff?” I told him that I didn’t know what he was talking about and asked him his name. His response was, “You got the stuff, you know the stuff.” At this point, I was beginning to feel like I was in the Twilight Zone! I asked him, “Sir, what kind of stuff are you talking about?” Then he said, “Somebody around here is supposed to have the stuff.” Whoa, mama!

After about 30 minutes of talking to him, we figured out that he was suffering from Alzheimer or dementia. Even in his confused state, he still spoke truth that I needed to hear. He was about 70 years old and had wandered about five miles away from home. So, I put him in my 1972 LaMans and drove him back to his daughter’s house.

For me, that old man represented some kids and adults of today. They are wandering around lost, some with no hope, others suffering abuse and neglect. Still, others cry themselves to sleep at night not feeling loved by anyone! They all are asking the same question that old man in my yard asked, “You got the stuff?” Do you have the stuff to step outside of what’s comfortable?